Back When
by somewhereinthedreams
Summary: Mike takes Paige to pick out a Christmas tree. Fluff. Set Post-Season 3.
1. Chapter 1

"Why are we at a Christmas tree lot?" Paige asked, looking around. When Mike told her they had one stop to make before heading home, this was the last place she imagined stopping. She thought that he wanted to stop by the store, not pick up a Christmas tree.

"I know it wasn't really a thing for you growing up, but everyone should have a chance to decorate their own tree," Mike explained, ushering her out of the car.

"The house already has a tree." Paige softly smiled at him. It was sweet of him to do this for her, but unnecessary. Johnny's Charlie Brown Christmas tree definitely had some appeal, despite it being a far cry from the 8-foot tree her parents always got.

"Johnny decorated that tree. This one is yours, with your own decorations."

"It's not like we didn't celebrate Christmas, it's just my dad - he thought it was a waste of time to decorate the tree." Paige rolled her eyes, recounting her dad's annual speech about Christmas trees. There were always business associates that her dad was looking to impress and that included having the perfect tree, decorated by professionals, not his family. Their tree always came straight from a department store and it always felt so impersonal. Every ornament was perfectly selected to match a theme. Their Christmas tree looked like it was ready for a magazine and part of her hated it. Her best friend's mom saved every ornament she and her siblings made over the years and proudly hung those with all of her other ornaments. She didn't even know what happened to the ornaments she and her brother made in school. "I don't want my ornaments to match."

Mike leaned forward and dropped his voice down to a whisper, "They don't have to match, just promise me, no grub worms."

Paige laughed, "What about a sexy baby Jesus? One with better abs?" She didn't care what Charlie said, that grub worm looked nothing like a baby Jesus.

"If you want."

Taking advantage of his proximity, Paige placed her hand on his chest. "I like your abs." Paige flicked her eyes towards his and offered him a small smile. She and Mike were slowly getting to a place where maybe they could be more than friends again. They were both constantly testing the waters but neither of them would actually make a move.

He met her gaze for a moment and it was like they were transported back to the summer. This past summer. Or the one before that. It didn't matter. Back when things were easy between them. Back when they could easily get lost in each other's eyes. When a look was just a look. When they could look in each other's eyes for more than three seconds without having to look away. Because of guilt. Or anger. When their touches were friendly. More than friendly. When everything was new and exciting. Not laced with regrets.

"I thought I was the cheesy one."

"Maybe it'll be my resolution for the new year."

Mike met her eyes again and she swore her heart skipped a beat when he placed his hand over hers. Mike cocked his head towards the entrance, "We should head inside before it gets dark and we can't see anything."

Paige nodded, offering no resistance when he tugged on her hand and laced their fingers together. It was an ordinary gesture, but for them it signified so much more. It meant they finally worked their way through all their garbage. That they were both ready to try again. That she was comfortable enough with the idea of _them_ that she didn't flip out because he tried to hold her hand in public.

Mike glanced at their joined hands and didn't even try to hide the smile filling his face. Both of them were content to just be in that moment and they walked in a comfortable silence through the parking lot until they neared the trees.

"Can I get any tree?"

"Whatever you want."

"Be careful, those are my three favorite words."

Mike shook his head and laughed, "Yeah, I know."

Paige leaned towards Mike and pointed far across the lot, "Even that one?" Paige tried to keep from smiling as she pointed to one of the taller trees.

"Don't you want look around first?" Mike asked, gesturing towards some smaller trees.

"You just don't want to carry that thing upstairs," Paige teased, laughing as she pictured Mike dragging that tree up the stairs all by himself, because he was too stubborn to ask for help.

"It won't fit in your room!"

Paige ignored Mike's logical statement and tugged on his hand, taking him around to another section of trees. They wandered around the lot, laughing as they touched the needles of the various trees, trying to figure out which one she liked best.

"I kinda like this one," Paige said, stopping in front of a nearly three foot tall tree with full, lush branches. "It smells amazing."

Mike flipped over the label, "Balsam fir."

"Do you..." her voice trailed off when she noticed a pair of pre-teen girls making their way past them. She would have ignored them if they hadn't kept turning around to look at them. Paige watched them for a few seconds before an older woman smiled apologetically at her and Mike. The woman grabbed the girls by their arms and ushered them in the opposite direction.

Paige looked around them and laughed softly to herself when he noticed that she and Mike were standing under mistletoe. She pointed up to draw Mike's attention to it.

He nervously laughed. "Yeah, so that explains..." his voice trailed off and he gestured in the direction that the pair of girls went.

"We don't have to," Paige quickly said. The last thing she wanted was for Mike to feel like he _had to_ kiss her. She wanted him to want to kiss her. There had been a few times over the past month where they had almost kissed, but something kept stopping them.

"What if I want to?"

Paige held her breath as Mike moved closer. Mike's stare was intense as her tongue darted out to wet her lips. Mike cupped her face in his hand and rubbed his thumb along her jaw. Paige sighed, leaning into his touch, feeling at peace for the first time in months. After what felt like an eternity, his lips were on hers.

Their first kiss happened so suddenly, despite suspecting they would hook up at some point last summer she hadn't expected it in _that_ moment. Although, even though though Mike wanted her, that kiss had nothing to do with her.

Their second kiss was a prelude to sex. There was no anticipation, it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of when. They had been flirting all day and Mike arrested her pushed her over the edge. She hadn't been willing to wait all summer for him to make a move. So she dropped her towel and he didn't leave her room until the next morning.

But this, _this_ felt different.

Paige wrapped her arms around Mike's neck, threading her fingers through his hair as Mike slowly, yet insistently kissed her.

It felt familiar, yet new at the same time. It wasn't hurried or rushed. Despite being surrounded by dozens of of people, they were existing in their own little bubble as they re-explored each other. Everything about this moment felt right, from the butterflies in her stomach to how normal this felt, like they were exactly where they were supposed to be.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey!" Mike protested as a cranberry hit him in the face. He held up his hand to deflect the cranberries Paige was gleefully pelting in his direction.

"Stop freaking out, I'm making a mess in my room, not yours."

Paige wanted to string popcorn and cranberries, but he was pretty sure more cranberries ended up on her bedroom floor than the strands she was stringing. He had two full strands of popcorn and was about to start a third when Paige decided to attack him.

They were currently sitting on her bedroom floor. His back was against her bed and Paige was sitting across from him, with bowls of popcorn and cranberries situated between them.

Her room was dark with the exception of the light emanating from the Christmas tree she painstakingly picked out earlier. The tree was sitting on top of her dresser near the window adorned with countless strands of lights. He stopped counting after three since he had no intention of stopping Paige from putting an excessive number of lights on her tree. It was hers to decorate however she wanted.

By some scheduling fluke, both he and Paige had meetings with their supervisors at the same time so they carpooled together. They grabbed a late lunch afterwards and stopped by The Drop for a drink, which gave him the perfect opportunity to take Paige to get her own Christmas tree. He figured if he didn't do it today he would lose his nerve.

He had been thinking about doing something special for Paige for the past few weeks, but wasn't sure what. There was too much history between them to just start over, but they couldn't exactly pick up where they left off before. They needed to start somewhere, because falling back into bed would probably be the worst thing they could do. Although he was tempted. So tempted. But seeing how badly they screwed things up the first time around, he wanted to do things right this time.

It was clear that their feelings for eachother were more than lingering, but they were both afraid of starting over. It had taken them months to get to a place where they could start fresh and neither wanted to upset the newfound delicate balance of their friendship. But what scared him more than making a move and moving faster than Paige was ready, was _not_ making a move and her moving on. The thought of her finding someone else because he was being too cautious was a risk he wasn't willing to take.

"Your room, huh?" He grinned mischievously, before throwing a handful of popcorn at her.

Paige's jaw dropped for a second, before she started throwing cranberries at him. "This means war!"

Ignoring the cranberries flying towards him, Mike grabbed her ankle as Paige tried scooting away from him. She shrieked when Mike dumped his entire bowl popcorn on her head. Leaning back, Paige started picking it up off the floor and throwing it at him, kicking her foot to try to get him to let go. Paige sat up a little and pried his wrist off her ankle, somehow causing him to fall down on top of her. By now, they were laughing as they rolled around her bedroom floor, making an even bigger mess when they squished some of the popcorn and cranberries onto her rug.

"Truce?" Mike asked, holding his hands up in mock surrender when he saw Paige grab some of the mashed cranberries.

Paige nodded and wiped her hand on her pants. Mike started picking the popcorn out of her hair. He missed being able to touch her freely. It seemed like a lifetime ago that personal space ceased to exist between them and it was all too recent that they tried avoiding touching each other at all costs. He supposed that changed when he detoxed and she read to him. He had been pretty out of it, but he had a few hazy memories of Paige sitting with him and periodically touching his chest. Either to reassure him that she was still there or to reassure herself that he was still breathing.

Mike noticed Paige watching him. Her eyes were filled with questions he wasn't sure he could answer, so he immediately dropped his hand.

Paige gripped his shirt to pull him closer, "Are you gonna make me surrender?" Paige breathed against his lips.

Mike groaned. It always drove him crazy when she talked to him when their lips were barely touching and she knew it. He crashed his lips against hers, greedily kissing her. The kiss they shared earlier had been perfect. Sweet. Flirty. Affectionate. But he wanted more from her. He always wanted more.

No matter how much time passed or what happened between them, he would always want more. Of her. With her. She was his greatest weakness.

"I could arrest you for disorderly conduct," Mike murmured between kisses.

"Maybe I'll resist arrest, make things interesting." Paige leaned back on the floor, pulling Mike down on top of her.

He settled himself over her, wanting to kiss and caress her everywhere. Paige arched herself against him as his hands and lips wandered.

The last night they were together, they started their night on her bedroom floor. First they were working. Then they started talking and it wasn't long before they made their way to her bed.

But he wanted _this_ to be different. Kissing Paige felt like the most normal thing in the world, but kissing her now felt different from every other kiss they shared. The passion was still there, but it felt like a beginning. It felt more than a stolen moment. They had never been on the same page before. He felt too much and wanted it all and all she wanted was to stay in the moment and hide from her feelings. He was so desperate to be with her, he never pushed Paige to define their relationship.

This time he needed to push for more. He didn't want them to fall into bed together because it was convenient. Mike didn't want to avoid all those questions and conversations they never had. He needed her to know she was more than a passing fling, that he was serious about her. He wasn't looking to get married tomorrow, although if that was a remote possibility, he probably would, but he needed Paige to want to be in a relationship with him.

That was the only thing he needed from her. And if that was something she couldn't do, he needed to know now and figure out if it was something he could do.

Paige's hand slipped between them and undid his belt. Breathing heavily, Mike lifted his head from her neck and lightly kissed her. "We should take things slower." He tangled his fingers in her hair, allowing him the opportunity to kiss her earlobe.

Paige rolled them over and she pulled off her shirt. "We can go slow," Paige promised, dropping tender kisses along his jaw. Her hand slid underneath his shirt, teasing and caressing him and he was already second-guessing himself as she sensually rubbed herself against him. "So slow."

Paige used his longer hair to her advantage, pulling it away from him to leave his neck exposed. Paige didn't waste any time before she attacked him, ignoring her earlier suggestion about going slow. But considering how good her lips felt, he didn't care. Mike groaned her name when she lightly bit the pulse point of his neck. She trailed kisses along his neck, "Or faster. Harder. Whatever you want."

Mike reached for her hand so he could kiss her wrist, "You know what I mean. I don't want us to screw things up this time." He was insane. That was the only excuse for stopping her. It was impossible for him to articulate how much he wanted her. How his body craved her touch. And here she was half-dressed and he was pushing her away. He was such an idiot.

"By not screwing? That sounds like a way we'd screw things up."

"Paige..."

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, Paige sighed heavily and rolled off him.

Mike sat up and pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to her bare shoulder. "I want to do things right this time. You're too important to me to mess things up again." Paige remained silent but she settled further into his embrace, pulling his arms tighter around him. Mike relaxed and rested his head on top of her shoulder and took a deep breath, smiling as he felt Paige do the same. It wasn't long before they were breathing in the same rhythm.

"We'll have sex after our third date," Paige announced.

"Wait, I never said we had to wait. I just wanted us to talk first." Paige _always_ managed to turn things around on him in a heartbeat. As much as it drove him crazy, he loved that about her.

Paige started laughing and she turned around so she was kneeling in front of him. "We're taking things slower this time. That's what you want isn't it? Last time we didn't even date. I'm not sure today counts as a date. You didn't ask me out."

"I bought you lunch and a Christmas tree."

"You bought me a taco."

"Three tacos."

"Big spender," Paige teased. She settled herself on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Mike rested his hands on her hips and lightly kissed her. "You got extra guac."

"That's right, I did. It was definitely a date then.

Mike ran his hand up her back until his hand was tangled in her hair. "Good," Mike whispered, pressing his lips to hers.

"Dinner. Tonight," Paige moaned.

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Late dinner. Maybe we can catch a movie or a show or something. I just need to shower first. I think I have cranberries in my hair."

"We should shower together. We'll save time. It's better for the environment," Mike suggested, eager to move things along.

Paige laughed, "I don't trust you." Paige squirmed away from him and he gripped her tighter. "Every time we end up in the shower together, it's a miracle we don't run out of hot water. Plus, shower sex always sounds like a better idea than it actually is."

"Hey!" Mike protested, sounding offended. "That last time - "

Paige cut him off with a kiss, "That was foreplay, not sex."

Mike groaned when he heard a knock on her door.

"What?" Paige asked.

Taking her response as an invitation, Charlie opened the door. "Johnny and - what the hell happened in here?" Charlie asked, taking in the mess on the floor and the fact that Paige was half-dressed and sitting on Mike's lap.

Paige looked at Mike and shrugged, "We were stringing cranberries and I dropped a few," Paige weakly explained.

"That's why you're not wearing a shirt?" Charlie asked, smirking at the pair.

Mike started laughing and buried his face in her shoulder.

He was well aware of the fact that he and Paige were in a compromising position, but for once they weren't hiding. The door wasn't locked. They weren't jumping apart or hiding. Being tangled up in each other seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Charlie barely reacting was proof of that.

"What?" Paige asked, daring Mike to disagree with her. "Cranberries are messy."

Charlie shook her head, "I'll leave you two to whatever it is you're doing." Charlie left and shut the door behind her.

"Messy? You attacked - "

Paige silenced Mike with a kiss, silencing his protests.

As long as she kept kissing him like that, he didn't care that she started their food fight. He'd let her win all their fights if each one ended with her kissing him. Mike groaned when she playfully bit his lip.

He had always been powerless against her touch. No matter how much things changed between them, that would probably be the one constant with them. All he needed to feel was the brush of her lips. Or the sensual sweeping of her tongue against his. Her fingers twining in his hair. Didn't matter what. The result was the same. He was at her mercy.

Every single time.

Paige suddenly pulled away from him and climbed off his lap. He blinked a few times, staring up at her confused. Mike felt like he was in a daze, just a second ago he was kissing her and now he wasn't.

"Meet me back here in an hour," Paige called over her shoulder. She grabbed a towel and exited the room so quickly he barely realized what was happening.

Mike leaned back on the floor and rested his arm over his face, trying to settle down. He needed a shower of his own.

Preferably, a cold one.


End file.
